Recent Sermons

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Reflecting on Ephesians 1.1-6

My pastor is preaching through Ephesians. Last week he digressed to prepare our hearts for the revival meetings that begin on Sunday. The following is a reflection from a sermon he preached on March 11.

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus” (1.1)…

Paul spent approximately three years in Ephesus building a local church. Timothy would pastor this church. It seemed to be a key beachhead for Paul as background in the book of Acts indicates (see Acts 19-20). Problems are not readily apparent in this church. A careful study of the book and other NT evidence may lead to implications that would prove helpful in discerning the struggles that took place in the Ephesian church. It is a church that is listed among the seven churches of Asia in John’s Revelation. 30 years after this letter of Paul was written the church was censured by our Lord Jesus Christ for becoming mechanical. They had left their first love. This is a good warning to contemplate as we look forward to our revival meetings.

Pastor said that “Paul was not interested in defending Paul; but rather, he was interested in defending Paul, the Apostle.” That’s an important distinction. The authority of Paul’s office as an apostle must be defended because it was a God-given authority. I am reminded of the gifts that God has given to the local church (Eph 4.11), namely pastors and evangelists. The authority they have is given by God as well. Tearing down the local church and doing away with this authority will lead to the destruction of other institutions (i.e., family, government, and society) set by God.

Paul wrote this letter while he was imprisoned and nearing the end of his life. He wrote it to the saints. As someone has aptly observed, “There are two groups of people in the world: saints and ain’ts.” The word simply means a ‘holy one.’ It is used as a synonym for ‘Christian.’ The idea of a venerated individual that has been set apart as being above the din of this world in some mystical way has confused this term. These saints in Ephesus are “faithful in Christ Jesus.” This is the first time we come to the phrase “in Christ” in the book of Ephesians. It is important and it is used 35 times in the book. Here it indicates that these believers were faithful; they were living out of their faith.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1.2).”

The word grace simply means ‘gift.’ It encompasses all of that which God has done for us. The peace Paul mentions is a result of receiving these gifts from God. Reflecting upon these gifts culminates in a crescendo of praise from Paul in a transitional verse:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (1.3).”

Blessed means “worthy of praise” is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is worthy of praise because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. We lack nothing! What are some of those spiritual blessings? Pastor gave us two in his sermon: 1) The Father chose us in Christ (1.4); and 2) The Father predestined us to be sons (1.5-6).

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (1.4)”…

The Father chose us in Christ. The doctrine of election finds its basis in this verb ‘chose.’ This verse indicates quite clearly that the chosen ones are in Christ. The question which has caused quite a stir is, “How do I get in Christ?” Pastor, rightly I think, denies the idea of a personal, individual choice of God. That is, that God chooses some individuals and does not choose others. No, every individual can become God’s elect by coming to Him on the basis of what He provided in eternity past.

This is illustrated by the process of choosing Gideon’s army (see Judges 7). Those who used a certain method of drinking water were chosen. The parallel to election to salvation is further defined by the repeated idea in this Epistle: “In Christ.” Election to salvation is defined by a methodology that God put in place: We are in Christ by faith. That is, we are the chosen of God precisely because we have believed into Christ.

Believing into Christ is a distinction between two Greek prepositions: eis and en. Eis depicts the idea of moving into the sphere of Christ and is used in the following passages: John 1.12; 6.29; 7.5, 39; 9.35-36; 11.25; 12.36; Acts 19.4; Galatians 2.16; Ephesians 1.11-12. Of course, God knew man would sin before the foundation of the world. Therefore, He provided redemption’s plan before it all began. Saving faith means forsaking all I trust Him!

“Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved” (1.5-6).

Not only did the Father choose us in Christ, He also predestined us to be sons. That is, God decided beforehand in love (predestined) what He wanted those in Christ to be. We are adopted as sons! We have received the high privilege of being in a position of receiving our full inheritance as sons through Christ! Why has God so graced us? The basis for such an inheritance is found in the good pleasure of His will.

The good pleasure of God is the delight He takes. As Pastor mentioned, “In a sense, God has become man-centered so that man might become God-centered.” It is His will or what He has purposed or intended. God’s plan for man is all to the praise of the glory of His grace! This is our ultimate end. He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Accepted in the sense that we have been declared highly favored (see only other use of this word in Luke 1.28) in the Beloved One – Christ.

There is nothing greater than God Himself. Our goal needs to be that we would manifest Him among others. I know who God is from the Scriptures illumined by the Holy Spirit. Because of this, I know also that the way of evil and suffering which God has allowed is best. While incomprehensible to the human mind, I rest in the fact that God’s way is absolutely best!